Drum & Bass News and Reviews

Reso – Ricochet [Hospital]

Reso is an artist I’ve been keeping an eye on ever since I first heard his productions in the (then burgeoning) dubstep scene; his work stood out from the pack of 140BPM stuff for the detail of his tracks, with much more complexity than other tracks at the more tearout end of that genre’s spectrum. His early forays into D&B proved equally as exciting, and his apparently permanent move into the higher tempo realm has already yielded some excellent releases.

Thus we arrive at Reso’s second LP which dropped last week on Tony Colman’s esteemed Hospital imprint, and a varied treat it is too! The first thing that stands out about the tracks on Ricochet is the drum work; the precision, detail and impact on the percussion across the entire album is absolutely unbelievable. Debates about the best drums in D&B are sure to have a fresh contender to the throne.

Stylistically the material feels like a continuation of the themes and sounds that Reso has been playing with for nearly a decade now, but with a confidence to explore softer tones alongside the stomping material. Compared to the relatively relentless bassweight of Tangram, there’s more variety to be found here, with the different tones bound together effectively via the incredible drum programming.

Highlights come on the soaring arpegiated melodies of WhatIs, the deep chiming IDM-esque drumfunk of Echo Loss and sublime album opener Taiga, with monstrous heavy hitters like Move It and The Blob punctuating the more melodic material perfectly. Simply put, this is an LP I can find little fault with. Check out the previews below and head to the Hospital Shop to grab a copy on CD, vinyl or digital now!